Niger Gov Laments Perm Sec’s Abduction, Killings In Shiroro LG

Niger State Governor, Abubakar Sani Bello has condemned the abduction of the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Transport, Dr. Ibrahim Musa; and his son in Zungeru town.

The governor also decried the murder of villagers in parts of the state by bandits as evil and inhuman.

Governor Sani Bello made the condemnation in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mary Noel-Berje, in Minna on Saturday.

The permanent secretary was reportedly abducted on Friday, alongside his son in Zungeru, by gunmen who broke into his house at midnight.

Musa was said to have gone to Zungeru for a wedding ceremony, and was abducted shortly after he returned home.

According to the statement, the governor decried the “barbaric and atrocious” acts of bandits in Shiroro and Munya local government areas, where scores of villagers were slaughtered and burnt, while others were abducted, and food bans and houses razed.

The governor noted that with the recent turn of event in the acts of banditry, there was an urgent need for total overhauling of the strategy of the security apparatus, adding that security operatives could curtail the situation and called for more support by the public with useful and timely information.

He prayed for the repose of the souls of those killed, quick recovery for those injured and safe return of those kidnapped, while reaffirming his administration’s unrelenting efforts to address insecurity in the state.